


pretty people never lie (vampires never die)

by namgiluvr



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Human/Vampire Relationship, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Aang/Katara, Minor Toph/Suki, Pining Sokka (Avatar), Roommates, Sokka (Avatar) Being An Idiot, Vampire Bites, Vampire Zuko, Vampires, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, why wasn't that an existing tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:14:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26870461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/namgiluvr/pseuds/namgiluvr
Summary: Sokka has a mild fixation with vampires. He's also somewhat infatuated to a certain boy with a scar and a tendency to scrutinize Sokka's sub-par cooking skills. Some might say they're both obsessions, but Sokka swears that they would never get the best of him.That is until he sees two bright, sharp fangs hiding behind Zuko's lips.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 26
Kudos: 313





	pretty people never lie (vampires never die)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [oddeye](https://archiveofourown.org/users/oddeye/gifts).



> [excited feet shuffling] HEY Y'ALL :D
> 
> after literally 18 months (yes, eighteen, as if i was writing a novel and not a one shot; sorry i have commitment issues) this baby is out of the oven!! initially this was a vmon fic lmao but then the great coming of atla to Netflix (2020, colorized) happened, i fell in love with zuko, i spot the classic Ray of Sunshine/Brooding Yet Greatly Deserving Of Love Person pairing dynamic then BOOM! i ctrl + h zukka's names into this entire document. 
> 
> this was made for my bestie cate because she is the reason i even started and finished this and she puts up with my Very Much Not Obsessive love for vampires and i love her and she's a great friend and we've been together for so long and have seen so much together I'm amazed we don't just kinda stare at each other and question reality cuz. yeah. anyway i love u mwah <3
> 
> fic title from a song i have never even heard lol sorry but title hunting is exhausting and i found it funny. also excuse any grammar issues i hate the English language and i ask myself every day why did i bother learning it
> 
> without further ado, zimzalabim (enjoy)!

“C’mon… just one bite. Just one.”

“I’m not putting my teeth anywhere near… _that_.”

“It’s just one bite! C’mon, I _know_ you want to do it.”

Zuko looks behind him, probably making sure no one is watching, then sighs. Sokka grins at him, happy that he got his way, then takes a step towards Zuko. He can see the doubt in his friend’s eyes, so Sokka grabs Zuko’s arm and squeezes lightly before letting go.

“Just do it quickly; the less you think about it—”

Sokka can’t finish his sentence before Zuko snatches the plate from his hand and takes a bite off a cookie. He waits silently, watching Zuko chew rapidly then scrunch his face as if he ate a sour candy. He opens his mouth and runs to the nearest trashcan, bending over it and spitting out the food then proceeding to throw the entire plate down the trash, too.

“Was it really that bad,” says Sokka rolling his eyes. Zuko is dramatic whenever Sokka asks for his opinion on food, yes, but at this point he should know better than to expect more from Sokka when it comes to the culinary arts.

Zuko makes a face. “Just tell me one thing: did you put raisins instead of actual chocolate pieces inside the cookies?”

Sokka groans and throws himself on the countertop, his forehead hitting the hard surface and his hands by his sides. “I just thought it would make a far healthier choice of ingredients.”

Zuko laughs, one of those deep, bubbly laughs that comes off in waves of light from his chest and subsequently makes Sokka’s stop. He smiles at that and peeks at his friend from the corner of his eyes. Zuko is shaking his head while looking at the ceiling, the veins of his neck popping out and his hair reaching the base of his neck. Sokka just stares at him because, despite having known Zuko for almost three years, the man’s beauty never fails to leave him as a mess.

Before Sokka can stand up, Zuko runs a hand down his spine and rests it on his waist. Sokka swears the world has stopped because he’s suddenly unable to move, to blink, to even breathe. He stays still, waiting to see what Zuko does next, but all he does is lightly tap his hipbone then move away. Small, brief, Zuko-like touches—so light and short you barely notice them if you don’t pay attention, but that’s Zuko’s most intimate form of trust. Sokka takes a breath and laughs shakily, immediately standing up and ensuring an arm’s length between him and his friend.

It’s pathetic, really, how much of an effect Zuko has on him. It doesn’t matter how much he wished it wasn’t like that, Sokka is head over heels for his friend. He fully admitted it months ago when they were watching a movie and, as always when it was Sokka’s time to pick a film, Zuko fell asleep on his shoulder. It wouldn’t have been half as bad if Zuko hadn’t curled himself on Sokka’s side, mouth on neck and arms around Sokka’s waist. The fact that he couldn’t bring himself to detach himself the whole night from Zuko’s grasp was notice enough to tell Sokka that he was indeed way too deep for his fixation on Zuko to be “just a crush”.

Zuko smiles at Sokka—one of those rare, all-teeth smiles that Sokka melts for—and turns around, not saying anything else until he’s almost at the other side of the kitchen. “We better go get some snacks before Katara and Aang get here, y’know?”

Sokka is amazed at how fast he takes his stuff and joins Zuko at the door, following him without a second thought.

With Zuko talking about who-knows-what in front of him, Sokka realizes he’d follow the man to the end of the world with no complaints.

***

“Oh c’mon, I won! You can’t just override democracy and choose a movie,” complains Sokka, battling the remote from Katara’s grasp.

Katara blows a raspberry at him and pushes back. “You can’t call rock-paper-scissors democracy.”

Sokka lets go off the remote with one hand and tickles Katara on the sides, the object falling to the floor as she tries to get Sokka off him. Before Katara tries to take it again, Sokka pushes her to the sofa and lunges for the remote, cradling it close to his chest once it’s in his grasp.

“It is, however, the only form of government we have in this house,” he says before moving to the kitchen where Zuko and Aang are hovering near the oven.

“You do realize watching the pizza won’t cook it any faster, right? It is very important to me that you know that.”

Aang turns around and smiles at Sokka. “We know, we’re just avoiding a fire.”

Sokka laughs and goes near Zuko, who’s still scrutinizing the pizza through the glass. The yellow light from the oven casts a warm hue on him, making Zuko’s skin glow and enhancing his beauty. He does, however, have a smudge of what looks like tomato sauce on his cheek, right below the scar around his left eye, that kind of breaks the spell. Not much.

Sokka points at the red streak. “Uhm, you have like—there’s something on your face.”

“Huh?” Zuko stands upright and swats at the wrong cheek, looking at his hand for assurance that he cleared the sauce.

“Here, let me just—” Sokka stands in front of Zuko, way closer than necessary, and brushes his thumb against Zuko’s cheekbone, the tomato sauce leaving his skin and stopping on Sokka’s thumb.

“Oh! Yeah, we kinda did a mess with the sauce; don’t worry, we cleaned it up,” says Zuko. Before Sokka can process what the _fuck_ is happening, Zuko takes his thumb and _licks_ the sauce off it. Sokka’s systems are shutting off and all he can do is stare at his thumb, now clean thanks to Zuko. He can hear Aang at the back laughing at something but Sokka is too spaced out to conjure a proper thought, instead a string of run-on sentences and fire alarms running around his brain.

“Sokka! If you don’t come here in the next five seconds to pick a movie, I will make you sit down through the whole three hours of _Titanic_ , no bathroom breaks allowed!”

Katara’s threat is enough excuse for Sokka to break free from a Zuko-induced spell and run out of the kitchen without looking back.

“I should have made it two seconds, damnit,” curses Katara as he sits down on the sofa, glaring at both Sokka and the TV.

“You knew I was going to choose this,” says Sokka from the other sofa, not bothering to look at Katara. She has a bowl of popcorn between her legs and her eyes trained on the movie playing in front of her

“Yeah, Sokka is obsessed with vampires; we really should have seen this coming.” Aang says, walking out of the kitchen with Zuko trailing behind him, smoking hot pizza in his hands. Aang moves and settles on the floor between Katara’s legs, leaving Zuko to place the food on the table.

Katara scoffs and looks at Zuko, who’s sitting at the opposite end of the sofa. Zuko is already looking back at Katara, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. Whatever it means, Katara laughs at it, then looks back at the screen without saying anything more.

Sokka sighs and concentrates on the movie. It’s not the first time something like this happens. Ever since he and Zuko became friends, Katara and him have acted weirdly. Not in a bad way—well, after her era of hate was over—just a we-know-stuff kind of way. Or in a dating way. Sokka shakes his head. Ew, no. The thought of Katara being with someone else other than Aang is just… wrong and not realistic.  
  


Right, so he’s overthinking now. Maybe it’s just an inside joke. Sokka doesn’t know and he doesn’t care. It’s not like he doesn’t have inside jokes with Zuko and Katara. He just wishes—he doesn’t know what he wishes for, aside from Zuko.

“Enlighten me again why are we watching yet _another_ movie about vampires?” asks Zuko breaking his train of thought.

“Sokka won rock-paper-scissors again,” grumbles Katara. She nudges Aang with her leg, who looks already half asleep.

“Democracy,” whispers Sokka.

“It is not and we can ask anyone.”

“Would you like to do preliminary voting about this?”

“I think that’d be better, yes.”

“Katara, we can’t vote with four people.”

Zuko laughs at that. He raises his legs and extends them across the couch, his feet touching Sokka’s knees. He pretends as if he doesn’t notice, but he’s actually wanting to spread out and do the same, to touch Zuko even in the barest way.

“Actually, now that you mention that,” starts Aang. He doesn’t open his eyes, instead letting Katara keep petting his head. “Suki and Toph want us to meet next week—said they wanted to ‘reveal’ something.”

“Marriage proposal” says Zuko at the same Katara says “felony charges”. Sokka remains silent and just looks at the both of them engage in a silent staring battle. When thirty seconds pass and neither of them seem to back down, he talks: “What?”

“My take is they got in trouble,” claims Katara.

“My bet is they’re saying they’re dating,” declares Zuko. He’s still looking at Katara across the room, a knowing smirk on his face. Sokka kind of wants to kiss it off.

“Oh, you want to bet? Fine.” Katara narrows her eyes at Zuko. “If I win, you spill.”

Sokka looks at Zuko. His friend is still looking at Katara, but he can see him become nervous at the thought of whatever Katara meant. It’s frustrating to not know, especially since they are being so blatantly obvious about it.

“If I win, you’re telling him,” repeats Katara. “If you win, well, you can choose whatever.”

“If I win, _you_ spill. To everyone,” demands Zuko. Sokka just watches them argue as if he was watching a tennis game, except he thinks he might understand that one better.

“Deal,” is all Katara says before turning away and fixating on the screen. Sokka wants to get up and scream what the _fuck_ is going on but all thoughts go to literal hell when he feels Zuko’s hand on his elbow. The touch makes all of his nerves die and his body go into shock.

Sure, it’s not like Zuko has never touched him before, but Sokka is such a touch-starved person that the barest contact sends him spiraling to another dimension, much more if it’s from Zuko. Always more when it’s him.

“You never said why vampires,” whispers Zuko. He’s close now, dangerously so. From being at the other end of the sofa he’s now glued next to Sokka, one arm hooked around his arm and his head resting on Sokka’s shoulder. He’s not sure if he’s supposed to see white spots hanging in front of him, but he’s certainly seeing them right now.

“Well—they’re interesting beings, y’know? Kind of misunderstood,” Sokka breathes out looking at the screen. He actually has no idea what is going on in the movie, but it serves as a distraction from Zuko’s breath on his neck.

“How so?”

“The whole ‘kill humans, drink blood’ thing… there has to be more to them than that.”

Zuko hums against his neck, his thigh rubbing against Sokka’s. At this point, he’s not even sure he’s breathing. He’s afraid that if he makes any sudden movements, he’ll throw his self-restraint away.

“What would you do if you ever met one?” Right, this is going the wrong way. Sokka swears Zuko dropped his voice two octaves just to mess with him. He looks over to Katara and Aang but is not surprised to find them wrapped up, fast asleep.

Zuko is acting weird. He has no idea what the _heck_ came over his friend. Food poisoning? Between the sauce incident, and this, Sokka believes something foreign made its way to Zuko’s personality hard drive and hijacked him, because never has Zuko been so clingy nor bold. Sokka tries to speak without his voice cracking. “I don’t know, be nice? I bet they’d had enough rude comments and prying questions to last for their immortality, I guess.”

That makes Zuko laugh and—yeah, that was a mistake. Sokka has to place the hand that is not being held by his friend under his leg and bite down his tongue in order to avoid doing something stupid like kissing him. One look in his direction is all it would take to lose all his hard work.

“Well, I hope you keep your promise,” is all Zuko says before completely melting into Sokka’s side, his face hidden in the crook of Sokka’s neck.

Sokka spends the remainder hour and a half of the movie thinking that if Zuko’s hold means death, it would really suck to be immortal.

***

“You’re sick, and I mean it in the worst way possible.”

Sokka ignores Katara’s remark and keeps pouring spoonful after spoonful of sugar in his coffee. He can hear his sister getting more disgusted as each grain of sugar hits the liquid. He doesn’t stop until one quarter of the small sugar container is gone.

“Jesus, you’re gonna get so many cavities,” says Katara.

Sokka smiles brightly at this, all teeth in display. “I’ve never had a cavity in my life so I think you’re wrong.”

“Leave him alone, Katara; all that sugar is what makes him extra sweet.”

Sokka pretends to not hear Zuko’s commentary, instead choosing that moment to conveniently hide behind his big cup of coffee and look outside the window. What the actual _fuck._ He stares at Zuko briefly, expecting him to have a mocking grin because _why would Zuko ever say_ that, but instead he’s met with the very ordinary sight of his friend mindlessly stirring his cup of coffee. They’re in a small coffee shop nearby his apartment waiting for Toph and Suki, who insisted on meeting them today despite it being the middle of the week and all of them were pretty busy with classes. It’s sunny though, a stark contrast from the downpour that had been going on all week, so Sokka is pretty grateful to be out at least once instead of cooped in his room doing work.

He’s also grateful for being out and not in the same four walls with Zuko in them. Ever since the movie night, he doesn’t know how to act around him, seeming like he grew a third foot and another pair of hands overnight because he keeps bumping into everything and nothing whenever Zuko is in a ten-feet radius from him. As if it wasn’t bad before, Sokka is now hyperaware of every single thing Zuko does around him, from a simple wave to blinking.

Maybe Katara is right. He’s sick.

He can’t dwell on his heart problems for long though, his thoughts broken by the bell on top of the door ringing. He sees two figures walk in, one with light brown hair and the other with darker hair. Sokka smiles at the arrival Toph and Suki. Seeing his friends all together has always made him the happiest person on Earth.

“Zuko!” shrieks Toph. She drops her hand from Suki’s arm and shoots it in the general direction where Sokka sits. Zuko rolls his eyes and tries to hide a smile, but ultimately stands up and reaches for Toph, giving her a quick hug. Despite having a hard time adjusting to everyone else, Zuko was fully and enthusiastically welcomed by Toph into their gang, claiming “their bond transcend words”.

“If I didn’t know you, I’d say you just got home from war,” says Katara. She looks at Zuko and Toph with a smile, then stands up to give Suki a hug.

Toph blows her a raspberry. “I have a right to miss Zuko at all times, much more since Sokka has been keeping him all for himself.”

Sokka perks up. “Hey, I didn’t cancel your weekly gossip session or whatever; take that up with the weather.”

Suki laughs and hugs Sokka from the back of his seat, then sits down on the chair besides Aang’s and starts a conversation. For a while, they simply talk and play catch up—it hadn’t been long since the last time they all met, but between classes and the utterly horrible weather, it felt like way too long. After they all finish eating and talking, Suki whispers something to Toph, who nods and stands up, getting Sokka’s attention and everyone else’s too.

She clears her throat. “Right, so, since you guys are our _acquaintances_ or something like that—” she rolls her eyes, clearly nervous. Sokka always wondered where she learned to do that, since it wasn’t like she could see any of them do it. ‘—we thought it would be nice to let you folks know Suki and I are dating.”

He looks briefly at Zuko. He’s hiding a smile behind his hand, obviously happy that he won the bet between him and Katara. At his side, Aang is surprised, eyes blown wide, but Sokka can see it is out of unexpected news. Katara just glares at Zuko for a moment, then smiles at Suki and Toph.

Sokka shakes out of his reverie and turns to them, who are looking at the rest expectantly. “About time Aang and Katara had some competition around these areas! I’m rooting for you two to win the Halloween costume battle.”

Despite the nonchalant way of delivering the news, Toph seems to visibly relax at this, her shoulders slumping and a smile breaking on her face. Suki giggles and gives Toph a push to sit on one of the chairs, her seating besides Zuko and Suki on Sokka’s side. Despite the movement, Zuko’s eyes never leave Toph, what looks like a confused expression sitting on his face.

“We knew you guys wouldn’t mind, but we were still a bit nervous about telling you,” says Suki, with Aang and Katara reassuring her that they are happy for them.

Sokka nods and smiles too. He’s curious about their relationship, but he can see it took them, especially Toph, a lot of courage to break the news to them, so he decides against it. Instead he lets Aang and Katara take the reins, sparking a conversation across the table. Sokka uses the opportunity to glance at Zuko. He’s aggressively whispering to Toph now, eyes heavy-lidded and worrying. That’s new. For as long as he has known them, Toph and Zuko have supported each other to no end, so what’s up with Zuko?

“You better have done something this week, or I swear to God I will… do something.”

Sokka looks to his side to see Suki smiling at him. Her right hand is cradling her chin, waiting for Sokka to speak.

“What are you talking about?”

Suki rolls her eyes, then moves her head in the general direction of Zuko. “Stuck at home with Prince Charming over there, raining—you better have made a move.”

Instead of answering, Sokka hides himself behind his already empty cup of coffee. Suki takes that as answer enough and pinches his arm.

“Ow! What was that for?” complains Sokka dropping the cup on the table, startling Katara.

“For being so _stupid_. Seriously, nothing? The moment I had a fraction of an opportunity I shot it with Toph! Now look how that turned out,” says Suki smiling widely.

Sokka huffs and sinks back in his chair, sulking like a child. “Well, not all of us are brave enough to ‘shoot a shot’ with someone, much less someone as either of them.”

“Invalid point; I almost stabbed you when we met and you still decided to flirt with me. Checkmate.”

Sokka giggles and shakes his head, looking down at his hands so he doesn’t look at Zuko. He _really_ wants to ask Suki how she ended up with Toph, but he knows Suki won’t let him stay away from the topic.

“Listen, I just— _How_ do I even approach someone like him?”

Suki smirks. “You’re making it seem like you have a crush on the king of a nation; it’s just Zuko. The same Zuko that cried watching ‘The Good Dinosaur’ and hates raisins in cookies.”

“Everyone cried during ‘The Good Dinosaur’ and hates raisins,” murmurs Sokka as a weak retort.

“But Zuko isn’t anyone, is he? If he were, you would have been over him a long time ago.”

And of course, Suki is right. No one is like Zuko. No one else can make Sokka feel like he’s on cloud nine with just a touch. No one else can light up his days like the sun itself. No one else makes Sokka feel so safe. No one else has his heart like Zuko does.

No one else is like Zuko, and that terrifies Sokka.

“Oh, damn, I have to go; I have a class now. Aang, are you coming?” Katara stands up and shows a hand to Aang, who nods and takes it.

“Yeah, I have a class too. I’m really happy for you guys,” he says with a smile towards Toph and Suki. Toph gives him a half smile in return and that seems to please Aang, waving at the others and leaving with Katara behind him.

Suki stands up. “I think we should leave, too—we need to go to the grocery store, since _someone_ ,” she looks at Sokka. “decided to do kitchen experiments last time he was at my place.”

“Hey, don’t blame me,” he replies, then points at Toph. “Blame her.”

“I literally do nothing and still get involved in your stupid shit.”

“We’ll meet again when we have time, but we just really wanted to tell you this today,” says Suki wrapping an arm around Toph.

“I hope we do,” replies Sokka with a smile. “You have some couple costumes to plan.”

Sukki rolls her eyes at Sokka while Zuko stands up and glares at them, completely ruining the atmosphere.

“Yeah, how about you dress up as Bella and Edward from Twilight, mhm?”

Sokka has no idea what Zuko is doing, portraying a cold and passive aggressive façade. Toph, however, doesn’t seem to care and hugs him. Sokka can see when they both squeeze way too hard, Toph standing on her tiptoes and Zuko’s biceps hardening under his shirt. Zuko lets go and leans back, a tired look on his face as if he just gave up something. Sokka doesn’t understand what the _fuck_ is going on and honestly, it irks him.

On that note, Suki hugs Zuko one last time then her and Toph leave the establishment, leaving Sokka to stand with Zuko.

Zuko turns to him. He’s no longer sulking, but instead has a small smile playing around his lips. Shy. Zuko-like. “Wanna head home?”

Obviously, Sokka understands it means to go back to their apartment. Go back to the apartment and pretend he doesn’t feel like his organs are ripping from his body every time he sees Zuko. Go home and act as if he doesn’t want to pin Zuko against a wall and kiss him senseless. Go home and feel like he’s somewhere unknown.

He can’t do that right now. Not after what just happened. And yes, so what if he’s jealous of Suki and Toph? Sokka’s rational side is telling him he’s being childish, that one day he too will have his Aang-Katara soulmate bond, that he will have someone to call his lover, and Zuko will too, and it won’t be Sokka, and that will be fine. Completely normal. But the other side of Sokka wants to be petty because of nothing. Be immature, if only for a few hours before he completely regrets it.

“No, you go on; I’m headed somewhere else.”

And with that, Sokka walks away from Zuko for the first time.

***

What was it about regretting it? Sokka can’t recall, but he surely is regretting not going home early. He stands there, soaking wet, in front of his door with his head against the wood and tries to will his misery and agony away.

He really should have gone home first. Instead, he just sulked around town until he ended up at his university’s library reading a book on astrophysics. He doesn’t care much about it, really, but Aang’s major is astrophysics and Sokka likes to talk to him about it, so he distracts his brain with calculations and outer space travels.

Sokka couldn’t hide away forever, though, which is what led to him running from the library to his apartment under the pouring rain. He could have called Katara or Aang for a ride but—there was something liberating about running under the rain that he loved. Exhilaration.

With a sigh, Sokka takes out his cold keys and opens the door. He’s met with darkness and silence, which is uncommon even if Zuko is alone. He’s usually milling around the place doing something or just looking for something to do. Tonight, though, it’s as if Sokka was the only person living there.

Maybe he went to hang out with Toph? Sokka debates about calling Zuko as he drops his wet jacket in the laundry room. Thankfully it took most of the water so his inner clothes are only mildly humid in comparison. He turns around to his room trying to fish his phone out of his pocket when he hears a loud thud.

Sokka frowns and looks back. He notices Zuko’s door is not entirely closed, a dim yellowish-red light leaking from the edge. Sokka edges forward and lightly taps his knuckles against the door.

“Hey, Zuko? I’m h—”

Sokka can’t finish his sentence, a rustle of noise interrupting him. Before he can ask what is going on, the door opens completely to reveal a disheveled Zuko, hair tousled up and eyes wild. Half of his body is hiding behind the door and the other is blocking the entrance.

“Hi. Hello. Sokka, hey.” Zuko looks as if he had finished running a marathon. His hair is all over the place, the collar of his shirt is wrung and he has a wild look to his eyes.

“Are you—is everything okay? I heard a noise and everything was dark so I thought you weren’t home,” says Sokka. Zuko is tapping a finger against the door, his eyes unblinking and fixed on a point behind Sokka, his mouth closed tight.

“Yeah, yeah, no, I’m totally fine. Just dropped something while cleaning, that’s all.”

Sokka can smell the lie a mile away. Zuko’s room is the most spotless place in their apartment, so Sokka knows he didn’t clean anything. What is he hiding?

Or maybe, _who_ is he hiding?

Before he can say anything else, Sokka gives a step back. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t know you had someone over. I’ll just—uhm, yeah,” he stutters.

Zuko tilts his head in confusion then shakes it. “No!” He clears his throat. “I mean, I don’t have anyone over, I was just doing—something.”

“Okay… Are you good, though?” asks Sokka.

“Yeah! I’m fine, really; go sleep, Sokka,” affirms Zuko, then smiles.

And yeah, the rain might have fucked him up somehow, because Sokka swears he just saw fangs in Zuko’s mouth.

Sokka stumbles until his back touches the wall. He doesn’t take his eyes off Zuko’s mouth because surely, he’s just imagining things. Sokka has to go take a shower, eat something, stay away from Zuko which is probably not going to work because why is Zuko walking towards Sokka right now, he can’t do that.

“Hey, hey, Sokka? Are you okay? Why are you trembling?” asks Zuko. He puts a hand on Sokka’s shoulder and squeezes lightly, worry streaked across his face. Along with blood.

Sokka shakes his head and looks again. There’s a dark red line running across Zuko’s jaw that looks wet enough for it to be recent. Sokka blinks and looks up. It is _not_ blood, just… something else. Tomato sauce. Zuko ate leftover pizza, and sauce stained his face, so that is exactly what happened.

“Sokka, hey—what happened? Are you getting sick? Did you eat something bad? _Have_ you eaten?” Zuko is too close and Sokka can’t breathe. He has no idea of what is happening and he’s losing control. His lack of critical thinking sends him into a fight or flight response, so he pushes Zuko off him with enough force to have him slam against his bedroom door.

Zuko hisses from the impact and—Sokka might have just lost his mind because those are very much fangs in his mouth.

“What the _fuck_? What’s wrong with you?” spits Zuko.

Sokka scoffs and walks towards him. “What’s wrong with me? _You_ are the one with fangs in your mouth!”

Zuko’s hands fly to his mouth as he shakes his head. Sokka takes them and wrestles them off his face, wrapping his hands with Zuko’s so he can’t move them back up without moving Sokka’s too. Having almost the same physique, fighting Zuko would be like fighting himself, but Sokka handles him easily enough.

“Open your mouth.” Zuko shakes his head and presses down his lips hard enough for the edges to become white. “Zuko, open your fucking mouth _now_.”

It feels weird, ordering Zuko around like this, but Sokka will be caught dead before living with the embarrassment of having lived with a vampire that has witnessed his deep interest (not an obsession, as Katara calls it) for vampires for the past two years. That’s downright humiliating and Sokka does not know if he can keep living with that.

“Zuko, if you don’t open your mouth in this moment, I’ll—I’m gonna kiss you.”

Now _why_ did he say that? Internally, Sokka is scolding himself for saying such a stupid thing, but outwardly he’s trying to control his breathing as Zuko inches forward and squints, because that seems very much like a challenge. _Is_ he challenging Sokka?

“You wouldn’t,” murmurs Zuko loud enough without having to open his mouth and, yeah, that was an actual spoken challenge.

A part of Sokka—the preserving, flight part “fight or flight” of his nature—is telling him to just back off, but another, much louder part is sounding off alarms and telling him _this_ is the opportunity he has been waiting for the past two years. How many times has he fantasized himself to sleep about kissing Zuko? Watching his mouth from across the room as he talks, wondering how it would feel to have those lips against his? He has the chance to finally find out and stop daydreaming. To see what reality is like.

So he does. Sokka blinks once then closes the gap between him and Zuko, pressing their lips together without moving. He doesn’t know what to do because, yeah, Zuko _did_ challenge him, but what if it was just for a quick peck? Sokka pulls back and looks at Zuko. His friend is looking at him like he found the missing piece of a puzzle, the right answer to a question.

“Kiss me again,” murmurs Zuko, so Sokka goes again.

There’s no hesitation as he bites Zuko’s lower lip, trying to gain access. Sokka lowers his hands to Zuko’s waist and squeezes hard, calling it a success when Zuko gasps and Sokka can push his tongue in, scraping against a sharp edge. He pulls back wide-eyed.

There’s a very big difference between accusing and confirming. It might seem like a thin line, but when it comes to accusing someone about being a goddamn mythical creature, there’s an ocean between the two actions. So, suspecting Zuko was a vampire is one thing, but actually getting to _feel_ it—by kissing him, nonetheless!—has Sokka’s brain short-circuiting.

Before he can attribute the entire situation to sickness, sleep deprivation, anything, Zuko whimpers. “I—If you feel like you need to go away and like, pretend I don’t have these _things,”_ he smiles widely and effectively, there are two bright, sharp-looking fangs looking back at him. “I won’t hold it against you; people always leave when they find out.”

 _People always leave when they find out._ A part of Sokka silently breaks inside him. How could someone leave Zuko? Zuko, who puts up with him and his sci-fi movie rambles. Zuko, who sits and waits through every culinary attempt Sokka does and is only mildly judgmental about the results. Zuko, who sometimes falls asleep while studying and wakes up with the keyboard tiles all over his face. Zuko, who brightens up everyone’s day by just smiling. Zuko, who opened a new book in Sokka’s life and is not looking to finishing it anytime soon. Zuko, who Sokka is madly in love with.

He cradles Zuko’s face in his hands and hopes his eyes say what his mouth can’t. Hopes Zuko can _see_ what he means. “I’m not leaving. I’m not going anywhere, okay? You have me, Zuko, and I intend to stay by your side.”

Sokka doesn’t know if Zuko gets it, doesn’t know if he notices the sickening feeling of pure love eating him alive, but he lets Zuko come near and kiss him again, hands that were pressing against the door now coming up to tangle in his hair. He bites onto Sokka’s lower lip and pushes the door open with his foot, turning them around until Sokka is walking backward to what he suspects is the bed.

He falls backward on it and Zuko puts a knee beside his hip, cradling on top of him with his hands still in Sokka’s hair. Zuko kisses him slow and deep, his body falling into Sokka’s to the point it feels like he’s trying to melt them together. Sokka wraps his arms around Zuko’s waist and squeezes hard enough to not let him go.

Zuko breaks their kiss. “You’re not—you really aren’t scared of me?”

Sokka gives him a warm smile and kisses his nose. “Afraid of what?”

Zuko groans and hides his face in the crook of Sokka’s neck. He can feel his face becoming hot. “The fact that I’m a— _mhmp_.”

“What did you say now? Kinda got broken off by static.” Sokka is grinning at this point. A shy Zuko is something he loves to see, and as it turns out teasing him is even better.

Zuko brings his head up and scowls at Sokka, fangs on full display. It takes every bit of willpower in Sokka to not start salivating at that very moment. “A _vampire,_ you idiot.”

“Zuko, I don’t know where the fuck have you been living at for the past two years, but just in case you haven’t noticed, vampires are single-handedly the hottest thing to ever grace this planet.”

“You didn’t even know we _were_ gracing the earth until like, five minutes ago.”

“It’s the thought that counts. Besides, I am a really avid fan since before this discovery, so I guess that should be taken into consideration too.”

Zuko laughs and kisses him again, this time smiling all the way through. Their kisses turn sloppy and messy, more laughter than anything else. Sokka is happy. Granted, he still hasn’t processed the fact that motherfucking _Zuko_ out of all people is a _vampire_ , but he’s indulging himself in some long-awaited make-out session before all his questions and anxieties settle in.

Zuko moves his head to Sokka’s neck and starts licking at the vein there, his teeth scraping against skin. It takes all of Sokka’s energy and more to not roll his eyes and pass out, instead pushing Zuko off him to sit on his lap. He starts whining before Sokka cuts him off.

“Wait, wait, Zuko—what were you doing before I got here?”

He groans and hides his face behind his hands, then drops them to play with the hem of Sokka’s shirt, his eyes not looking up. “I—I was hungry, and I was looking for like, packets of blood I have stashed for when I get like this, but I forgot to pick new ones up after I finished my last batch, so I was kind of freaking out.”

Sokka runs a hand through Zuko’s hair, earning a purr in return. “Packets of blood?”

“Well, you didn’t think I would just go biting people, did you?”

He knows he said it jokingly, but behind it Sokka can hear the actual pain of the question. No one has read more about vampires than Sokka. If _anything_ that he’s read is correct, he knows Zuko wouldn’t attack a human for food—some vampire ethics code, he guesses. But he also knows Zuko as a person.

And he knows himself, which is why he says the first thing that comes to his mind.

“Are you still hungry?”

_Jesus, make it more obvious, would you?_

Zuko shrugs. “I mean, a bit, but I can just wait ‘till tomorrow and buy a batch of blood; already had—”

“Bite me.”

Sokka sees the moment Zuko’s brain completely stops functioning. He kind of wants to laugh, but he’s also daydreamed about this since forever—granted, daydreaming about bitten by a vampire and kissing Zuko never intersected into vampire Zuko biting him, but alas he will not complain. Two birds with one stone.

Zuko blinks. “Are you—you’re kidding, right?”

Sokka shakes his head, a smile on his lips. “I’m serious. If you’re hungry, you can do it. Besides, I think you know this isn’t a problem for me.”

Zuko breathes out a tiny laugh and an “okay”, then starts blinking rapidly. Sokka can sense how nervous he is, so he guides both of them to the middle of the bed, Zuko looming over him while Sokka lays on the pillows.

“Holy shit, this is actually happening—oh, God, I’m kind of freaking out. Sokka, what if I hurt you? What if I end up drinking all your blood?” Zuko gasps. “Oh, Jesus, you’re anemic! You’re going to die!”

Sokka giggles and holds his hands. “Zuko, I’m not anemic; that’s Aang.”

Zuko exhales. “Right, right, sorry, I forgot. Are you still sure you want to do this?”

Sokka nods, running his hands up and down Zuko’s thighs. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous, but he can see Zuko is almost shaking at the thought of biting someone, so he steels himself and tries to lead the situation as best as he can. Zuko takes a shaky breath and leans down, his nose tickling Sokka’s neck. He stays there for a second, leaves a feather kiss on the spot, trails up to his jaw, then goes back to where his lips touched skin. Sokka is losing his mind—of course Zuko is a tease even hungry.

He feels Zuko lick at his neck, and Sokka is about to ask him what he’s doing before his vision goes black.

Sokka feels like he got flu shots on his neck for a moment, the memory of him almost running out of the hospital once he saw the needle flashing through his mind. There’s pain for a quick second, immediately replaced by such a strong and sudden arousal he thinks he will pass out.

Theoretically speaking, Sokka knew a vampire biting would be hot. Given the hormones, adrenaline, the place, and the myth of certain aphrodisiac venom, a single bite would make anyone go mad with arousal. Still, he quite obviously had never been bitten before until this moment, and he doubts he’ll get it again because he’s not sure if he will survive.

Sokka moans and throws his head back, allowing Zuko more space. Sokka tries to stay conscious but his eyes keep rolling back, pure stimulation running through his veins. He doesn’t remember the last time he was this lustful. Hell, he doesn’t think he has _ever_ been this horny. Sokka wraps a leg around Zuko’s waist, pulling their bodies flush and making the vampire hum at the back of his neck. Sokka runs his hands through Zuko’s hair, his chest, his back, anywhere he can reach as long as it keeps him near Zuko. The vampire sucks harder, and Sokka literally flies on cloud nine.

“Fuck, fuck, shit, feels so— _God_.” Sokka completely loses his speech abilities and loses himself in the moment, hands pulling at Zuko’s head so hard he suspects he is hurting but does not want to stop.

Zuko takes his head in between his hands and moves Sokka however he pleases, and though that should _not_ make him feel the way it does, Sokka craves more. He makes a grunting noise, hoping Zuko gets the message because he is in no shape whatsoever to speak. Zuko, nonetheless, seems to somehow get the memo and without detaching his mouth from Sokka’s neck, he maneuvers them so that Sokka is once again sitting on Zuko’s lap.

Sokka still has liquid fire running through his veins, but he’s beginning to feel tired. Weird. He’s doing absolutely nothing but just living his _dream_ and he feels like he’s been awake for forty-eight hours straight. Sokka feels his head start to drop and Zuko must feel it too, because he finally breaks away from his neck and looks at Sokka, eyes entirely black, the gold that Zuko brands long gone. Fucking _hot_.

“No, go back, m’fine,” slurs out Sokka, face hiding in Zuko’s neck. He can feel the vampire laughing and shaking his head.

“Hey, don’t worry—first time biting is always a mind-blower. You’re gonna get used to it.”

Sokka smiles at the implication that _this_ will happen again. Good, because he thinks nothing in the universe could top the feeling of getting his neck sucked by Zuko.

He leans back and _holy shit_. Zuko’s jaw is painted in red, a drop of blood running down his lips. It definitely should not make Sokka feel like he’s walking through jelly, eyes glued to Zuko’s lips, fangs no longer out. In any other occasion he would be kissing the vampire senseless (which should be disgusting, but alas), but Sokka is so lightheaded and tired he simply nods and falls to the other side of the bed.

He’s so tired he almost misses Zuko licking his neck, probably sealing the wound, then walking to the bathroom and coming out clean-faced and with a wet towel in his hand. He wipes it on Sokka’s neck then throws it somewhere at the foot of the bed, laying beside Sokka with a hand on his cheek.

Sokka’s eyes cannot hold themselves open one more second, but he pushes and kisses Zuko, and with his last bit of energy says, “Amazing how you didn’t spill a drop of blood on the bed.”

***

He wakes up on a cold, empty bed, the pillow beside him pushed down and smelling of somebody else, the covers thrown away in a haste. The door is halfway open, and Zuko knows.

Zuko knows it happened again.

He wakes up alone, with a key to his heart missing, and Sokka is gone.

***

_Grief is the psychological process that is produced after a loss, an absence, a death, or an abandonment. It is different for every person and does not have a set life stage for it to happen. Symptoms might include a range from emotional to physical, such as anxiety, fear, guilt, confusion, denial, sadness, and even emotional shock._

Sokka sprints through the sidewalks avoiding patches of water, head bowed and his fingers tapping his elbows at a random rhythm. For some reason he does not want to explore, his brain conjures bits and pieces from his final research paper for his social science class.

_The pain from a loss can be experimented not only because of death but due to life experiences that cause a definite interruption of something. The emotional process of confronting a loss is what is called elaboration of grief, which leads to the need to adapt to a new situation._

He’s not feeling grief. No, he hasn’t lost anything. Maybe his sanity and a pint of blood. Other than that, he’s fine. He truly is, except he kind of panicked when he woke up this morning tangled between Zuko’s legs, on his bed, dizzy and lightheaded. Sokka, being the rational man he is known to be, grabbed his shoes and coat—which in retrospect aren’t actually his because he does not recall owning a beige coat or Yves Saint Laurent shoes—and ran out of the house. He knows he needs to go back and shower, eat, maybe talk to Zuko. Or he could just walk away.

 _First, Kübler-Ross established the denial stage. Incredulity is the first reaction when life is hit with such a blow._ _Denial cannot be held for an indefinite period because it crashes against a reality that has not been fully accepted, thus this stage is discarded the quickest_

 _Well no fucking shit._ Sokka takes a turn, nearly crashing into a lighting post, and slows down to a walk. Zuko is a vampire, one who he has crushed on for years. Oh, the _embarrassment_ he feels now. Zuko has seen him ramble on about vampires in every possible way all while being one. God, the entertainment he must have provided.

_The second stage, anger, is very common for people to experience after a loss. This is born out of frustration that is produced from being unable to fix or revert the situation._

Sokka is angry, alright. Why didn’t Zuko tell him before? Why did he feel the need to hide? They have known each other for so long, and Zuko knows Sokka would be the last person to judge, so why the running away? Did Zuko not trust Sokka? Did their friendship mean nothing to him?

_The third stage is bargaining. In this stage, the idea that a possibility of loss being something that can be avoided is produced. In a way, it offers the fantasy of being in control of the situation. During negotiation—which can occur before or after a loss—humans fantasize about the idea of reverting the process and looking for strategies for it to be possible._

Right, so, there is the possibility Sokka might just have had a very vivid dream. Could be, and the two tiny dots on his neck are simply mosquito bites. That, or he could pretend he forgot everything. _Oh, Zuko! I woke up this morning in your bed, I’m guessing by accident? It’s funny, I do not remember anything I did yesterday._ Sokka can always disappear. Move to Australia, maybe—though he does not look forward to kangaroos.

_The fourth stage is depression. At this time, reality finally settles in and a person is faced with what is happening. As panic begins to subside, the person feels sadness, unclearness about the future, and profound pain._

Sighing, Sokka stops walking and looks up. His feet have driven him to Zuko’s favorite park. It is nearly deserted at this hour, only a couple of early runners around the area. He flops down on a bench and stares at the trees, feeling like a ton of bricks are weighing him down inside. He can’t run away from this, no matter how much he wants to. Maybe for a bit.

Sokka pats himself down and thanks life that his phone is somehow still in his pocket. Admittedly—and disgustingly—he’s still wearing yesterday’s clothes (not like he had much time to take a shower). He scrolls down and debates on who to call. Katara is probably at work at this hour of the morning, Aang is probably sleeping, and Toph is _not_ the person to call for Zuko-related problems, which only leaves for Suki to call. Sokka hates to bother her this early, knowing she might be either working out or asleep.

He dials the number, expecting it to not be picked up, but after the fourth ring, the call is answered. Sokka can barely breathe one last time before rambling non-stop.

“Hi, Suki? Hi, hey, I’m sorry for waking you up or stopping you from whatever you were doing, but I kind of really need to talk to someone? This might sound crazy but Zuko is a vampire, I think, maybe? There’s a possibility I’ve gone mad. Uhm, either way, I need help. He kind of sucked a pint of blood out of me last night, so for all I know this isn’t really happening and I’m hallucinating this while passed out from lack of proper blood pressure—wait, no, really, I don’t know what to do and this is kind of freaking me out because, holy fucking shit, Zuko is a vampire. Like, how crazy is that? Shit, this is so humi—”

And the call ends.

Sokka stares at his phone, Suki’s contact picture staring at him right back. It’s a selfie, just a few months old, her pink lips in a pout, and a peace sign at the side of her face. He’s wondering if his rambling scared Suki—he sounded kind of crazy, he reckons—when a text from her lights up his screen.

_15 minutes. Same café from yesterday._

***

He taps the edge of the table anxiously and stares at his surroundings. Getting a cup of coffee while being in such a nervous state did not seem like the best idea, so Sokka settled for ordering some toast. He stares out the window in search of Suki, decidedly ignoring the masses around him. People picking up a coffee before work or class, a couple of joggers winding down from a run, old people reading the newspaper—his brain automatically tunes them out and focuses on not word-vomiting to the nearest stranger.

After Sokka eats his last toast he hears the establishment’s bell ring and he looks up, expecting to see another businessman in a rush, but is surprised when his eyes meet a mess of black hair.

“Toph? Did you come with Suki?” Sokka stands up and takes her hand, guiding her to the chair opposite to him.

Toph doesn’t answer, instead sitting down and waving a hand dismissively, then shakes her head and puts her cane across her legs.

“Suki isn’t here—she’s studying. Also, better get comfortable, you are most definitely going to need it after this.”

Sokka frowns. Why is Toph here then?

“Guess you'd prefer advice from me, the vampire's vampire best friend.”

Sokka fixes the question. _How_ is he still alive?

“What the fuck?”

Toph nods and hides her hands in her hoodie’s pocket. “Before you lose your mind, I answered the phone call; Suki was asleep, and I didn’t know if it was an emergency, so I picked up and, well, I realized you truly needed to talk to someone. Suki wouldn’t have been the best person for that task, though, given that _I_ am the vampire in the house.” Sokka doesn’t even blink, so Toph takes that as a sign to keep talking. “Yes, Suki is aware and yes we did plan to tell you later on, once you were at ease or something like that.” She waves a dismissive hand and keeps on. “Either way, I agreed with her on that until Zuko got pissed off.”

“What about Zuko?”

Toph snorts. Sokka doesn’t appreciate her attitude at this hour of the morning, much less when he is even _more_ confused than what he was before. Great, now there are _two_ vampires in his life.

“You really have no idea, huh?”

“About what?”

“Well,” Toph taps the table with one finger, seemingly thinking of her next statement. “I knew Zuko was a vampire the moment I saw him—he has an, ah, how do you say it… overbearing presence? Not in a bad way, just—his aura is extremely influenced by his vampire self, so it is fairly easy to recognize him as one. Humans, of course, aren’t tuned to mythical creatures so they would normally see him as a very… mysterious and closed off person.”

Ah, that explains why they hit it off so quickly. Sokka stares at Toph, unable to say anything. Why is she telling him all of this?

He clears his throat. “It’s not that I don’t want to see you, Toph, but why exactly did you want to meet me for?”

Toph seems to deflate at that, crossing her arms over the table and looks at Sokka in the eyes. “What exactly happened with Zuko?”

So Sokka tells her. He conveniently chooses his words so that Toph doesn’t notice that he was, and is still in fact, dying from pinning after his friend. Who is a vampire. Zuko is a vampire. Even as he tells it, Sokka can’t believe _Zuko_ is a creature that he has actively talked about since forever. Toph orders a hot chocolate while she listens, not saying anything until Sokka is finished and slightly trembling.

“I don’t know how to tell you this in a kind way,” begins Toph while stirring the cup with a tiny wooden stick, “but you are a fucking idiot.”

Sokka just blinks. _Huh?_

“Confessing that you are a vampire, someone who actively has to drink blood to remain alive, who has dozens of stereotypes against your existence, it’s not fucking easy to do. Hell, the only reason Suki knew about me so quickly is because she begged me to confess—don’t ask how she got there. You two have been friends for, what, years? And Zuko _just_ told you about it. He opens himself up to you, tells you his biggest secret, and what do you do? Run away.”

_Finally, the stage of acceptance arrives. It is when the loss is accepted and a person learns how to move on in life, and that the feeling of overcoming is okay._

The world has started spinning under Sokka’s feet. He’s dizzy looking at a point behind Toph. He’s an idiot, for fuck’s sake. How could he have left Zuko there, alone and scared? Sokka now realized he was selfish, acting before thinking. His line of thinking suddenly comes to a halt when Toph puts a hand on top of his.

“I don’t mean to sound harsh,” she begins in a soft and comforting voice, “but I know what Zuko is going through, and it’s not a good feeling. Both of you are good guys and you deserve the best. Running away from confrontation—it isn’t going to lead you anywhere.” Toph pats Sokka’s hand then takes hers back. “Go home and tell him how you feel.”

Sokka feels his face become hot, and he’s sure his ears are tinted red. “I thought this was about Zuko being a vampire.”

Toph simply rolls her eyes and smiles behind the cup of hot chocolate. “That too, but it’s obvious you’re crazy over him. I might not be able to see how you look at him, but I can _feel_ how you are around him—like he’s the center of the universe. He deserves to be happy, but you too, you know.”

And he does. If Zuko opened himself to Sokka, it’s only fair that he does the same too.

He stands up and nods at Toph. He has to go back and talk to Zuko. Secretly, Sokka is grateful he got to talk to Toph about it first, otherwise, Sokka does not hold a fighting chance in any given situation. One encounter with an angry Toph in regards to an upset Zuko was enough to last Sokka for a lifetime.

“I—Thank you,” he tells Toph. “I’d offer to walk you home, but you’d put your cane up my ass if I made Zuko wait one more minute.”

Toph waves him off and leans back. “You can pay me back by helping me escape from whatever costume Suki is planning for us for Halloween.”

***

Sokka stands in front of the door, a sense of déjà vu taking over him. He has the keys in his hand again, debating whether to open the door or not, but this time the coldness he feels isn’t due to the rain—it’s because of pure, raw fear. For all he knows, Zuko could round-kick him the moment he opens the door. Or Zuko wants no business with him, or he moved away.

Shaking his head Sokka opens the door. Making up alternative (but very probable) realities is not going to help him in any way. The lights inside are off and it’s silent enough that he could hear a pin be dropped. As he walks further into the apartment, the sense of déjà vu only gets worse, to the point where Sokka is shaking by the time he makes it to Zuko’s door. From the bottom of the door, he can see the lights are off inside the room, too. He knows Zuko is in there, though. Something inside Sokka is urging him to speak, so he does.

He knocks the door lightly. “Zuko?” When there’s no response, he puts his forehead against the wood. “I know I’m probably the last person you want to listen to right now, and within reason, because I am an idiot. I know I don’t deserve your attention or any part of you, but I have to say this.”

“I’m sorry. For a lot of things, but mostly for leaving you. It was a stupid thing to do and I really don’t have anything to excuse it with. I was just surprised and didn’t know how to react, but I shouldn’t have left you, not after you opened yourself to me like that. I know it must have taken so much courage to say—to trust me enough to feel safe letting me know who you are. Because it’s not—I don’t care about _what_ you are, but _who_ you are. You’re Zuko from chemistry, who has a borderline frightening ability to remember every element in the periodic table. You’re Zuko who made Aang’s life a living hell when you two shared that semester of physics because you refused to let him be the lead lab partner. You’re Zuko, who faced Katara’s wrath and survived when we finally became friends. You’re Zuko, who is possibly the only person on Earth to make Toph gentle and caring. Zuko, who doesn’t know when to stop pushing himself to do more, even when he has already proven himself a thousand times. Zuko, who can put up with my bad jokes and slightly worse cooking, who didn’t think it twice when I asked to become roommates. Zuko, who watches the same movies with me with no complaints despite having watched them so many times he knows the dialogues. Zuko, who makes me forget about the rest of the universe and only focus on him. Zuko, who makes me feel like life is worth living, who makes me be excited for each new day, who I’d follow straight into battle, ‘till the end of the world.” Sokka slides down the door, a tear running down his cheek. “You’re Zuko, the man who I am in love with, and I am sorry for that, too.”

Sokka sits there, his heart on his hand, the silence crushing him as the seconds go by. He’s scared about how Zuko might react. Now he knows what Zuko felt the night before. Sokka doesn’t want him to go away, to change who they are, doesn’t want their friendship to fall like this. He’s considering just running away— _again_ , much to his embarrassment—to avoid having the worst possible break down in human history when the door behind him suddenly opens and he slams his head against the floor.

“Ouch,” is all Sokka dares say.

Zuko is looking at him from above, and though his face is upside down, Sokka can tell he’s been crying. His eyes are rimmed in red, the scar on the left side of his face is slightly irritated as if it had been rubbed, and his pale face has a slight pink tone to it. Sokka makes an attempt to stand up but before he’s able to realize what is going on, Zuko flips over and is suddenly pinning him to the ground, knees pressing against his side with enough force that Sokka isn’t able to move.

“Did you mean that?” Zuko’s voice is hoarse like he hasn’t used it all day.

“Mean what?” Sokka’s brain has yet to catch up to the current situation. In his defense, Zuko _is_ pinning him to the ground. Blame him for that.

“What you just said. Are you really sorry for… that.”

Sokka stays silent for a second. He _is_ sorry for hurting Zuko. If he could go back in time and prevent himself from leaving that morning, he would. Sokka never meant to hurt Zuko in any way, never would have done so with all his senses and consciousness working properly. The last thing he’d ever want to do is see Zuko cry or in pain.

But he’s not sorry for loving him. Hell, loving Zuko is probably what Sokka is meant for.

“For hurting you, I am sorry. I’ll do anything you want to prove it. I was stupid and reckless and never meant to make you feel bad,” Sokka whispers. He raises a hand and places it near Zuko’s cheek, not touching, but with a clear purpose. “But I’m not sorry for loving you. I love you, Zuko.”

Sokka lays there, simply waiting. For what, he doesn’t know. Probably for Zuko to run away. His face is completely neutral, any sign of sadness that was visible earlier now gone. His eyes are scrutinizing Sokka like it’s a puzzle, squinting and judging. A few seconds of dead silence pass and Sokka is starting to believe he has truly ruined years of friendship with his stupidity. His eyes tear up, thinking about how he maybe isn’t meant to be happy with someone by his side after all. First, he loses Yue, then pinned after Suki with no result, and now he’s about to lose his best friend just because his heart was stupid enough to catch feelings for him.

Sokka starts to retract his hand from Zuko’s face, accepting his inevitable fate of being heartbroken yet again, when Zuko swoops down and kisses him.

It’s nothing like their first kiss the night before—this time neither of them hesitates and instead cling to each other like it’s their last time together. Sokka wraps his arms around Zuko’s waist and lowers him to lay on top of Sokka’s torso, Zuko’s hands tangling in his hair and tugging hard enough for Sokka to moan inside his mouth.

“You’re such an idiot,” murmurs Zuko, moving to lightly kiss Sokka’s cheek. He giggles at the touch and pushes Zuko to lay side by side with him, limbs still tangled in each others.

“Not that I am not enjoying it, but I’m very confused about this turn of events.”

Zuko rolls his eyes, a blush slowly creeping up from his neck and to his face. He wiggles impossibly closer to Sokka and cradles his face between his hands, golden eyes looking into icy blue ones, completely vulnerable and honest.

“I won’t lie—when I woke up this morning, I felt like something inside me had been stolen. I didn’t want to believe that you left me. You, Sokka, who doesn’t even let me go _pee_ alone—don’t even bother denying it, I know you hover outside the door.” Sokka pouts. It was only a _couple_ of times, and only in public places. Gotta look out for your friends’ safety and all that. “But the bed was empty, and so was the apartment, and there wasn’t even a note or text from you saying where you went, so I just assumed the worst. I was afraid that you’d think I now was a monster, that I don’t deserve anything good, but worst of all, I was terrified you had noticed how in love I am with you, and that the idea of someone like me, on top of that your _best friend_ , being in love with you was reason enough to leave and never come back.”

Sokka blinks once, twice, and tries his best to process this new flow of information. _Zuko_ is in love with _him_?

“You love me?” is all Sokka manages to whisper, a smile growing on his face.

Once again, Zuko rolls his eyes but ends up mirroring his smile. “Yes, buddy, I love you.”

“Thanks for throwing in the ‘buddy’; it cancels out the gayness in that statement,” Sokka huffs and laughs. “But I meant what I said: You have me, and I intend to stay by your side. No slip-ups this time.” He doesn’t let Zuko reply and simply moves forward and kisses him. Sokka loves Zuko, and Zuko loves him back, and Zuko is a vampire, and—

Sokka breaks the kiss and stares wide-eyed at a confused Zuko. “What?”  
“Holy shit, my boyfriend’s a vampire,” whispers Sokka.

“Well, thanks for properly asking me to be your boyfriend, not like I had been fantasizing about that for _years_ ,” says Zuko, rolling his eyes yet again. Sokka thinks he needs to stop doing that before his eyes get permanently stuck to the back of his head. “But yes, I am a vampire.”

Sokka’s brain short-circuits in an attempt to make sense of the past twenty-four hours. Zuko is a vampire, Zuko is his boyfriend, Sokka now has a vampire boyfriend. Basic math.

With an extenuating amount of force, Sokka flips them over so he now looms over a very surprised Zuko, noses touching slightly and a mischievous grin on Sokka’s face. He runs his hands across Zuko’s chest and stops at his shoulders, leaning in to talk by his ear.

“I hope you’re ready, because I have been obsessed with vampires for half my life and with you for quite some time, so you, my love, are in for quite a treat.”

Sokka doesn’t need to look at him to know that Zuko is blushing so hard anybody else would think he’s sick.

***

Sokka is happy.

Well, he isn’t happy about the fact that, once again, Zuko has managed to one-up him for breakfast, because how the _fuck_ is he so good at making pancakes, that is _not_ a humanly possible talent.

Well, again, Zuko isn’t human.

It’s been a few days since they officially became a couple, and Sokka feels like he’s been in one endless dream. After talking for what seemed like forever—and a lot of complaining, because “what the fuck, Sokka, who confesses while laying on the floor, damn it, my entire back hurts”—, and also making out for forever, Zuko explained to him how being a vampire worked. Though Sokka had been correct about most guesses, Zuko still clarified a lot of things, such as how he managed to have blood for consumption at any time. His uncle, Iroh, gave him monthly sets of concentrated liquid, and he had been the one to always look after Zuko before he moved in with Sokka.

Sokka, of course, young and very much full of lust, immediately volunteered to be an instant supply of blood whenever Zuko needed it, but Zuko shot him down. Something about “his body not being able to handle the physical toll of weekly blood depletion, and no, Sokka, I’m not putting your health at risk just to give in to your stupidly crazy vampire fantasies, enough by constantly asking me to kiss you with my fangs out”.

Unbelievable, really. He finally got the man _and_ the myth, but at a terrible, terrible cost.

Besides that, Zuko also admitted to having been in love with Sokka for far longer than he would have expected. To think he almost got beheaded by Katara just so he could talk to Sokka—now _that_ is true love. Or stupidity. Seriously, who _willingly_ tries to cross Katara?

Zuko’s unusual attitude had also been cleared up. In an attempt to gain Sokka’s attention, and ultimately confess, he had stepped out of his comfort zone and tried to be bolder towards Sokka. The sauce incident, the movie night, the café—all attempts to try and tell Sokka he was in love with him. Mission somewhat successful, really, since he failed to consider that Sokka was already head over heels for Zuko.

Now, Sokka watches silently as Zuko waltzes around the kitchen preparing breakfast. His hair is pulled back in a bun and he wears Sokka’s shirt, because no matter what time of the year is it, Zuko is always freezing cold and Sokka is a walking furnace. It works perfectly when it’s time to sleep.

Sokka tries to get Zuko’s attention. “Hey, Zuko.” His boyfriend hums in response, still working on the food. “Remember that night before we met with Suki and Toph?”

“Yeah, why?”  
“What did you and Katara bet?”

Zuko stops for a second, then finishes pouring the batter on a pan before turning to Sokka. “Your sister—she knew I was a vampire when she met me, just like Toph.”

Sokka blinks. He isn’t upset that Katara never told him—no, he’s embarrassed. She knew he was making himself look like a fool in front of Zuko and she _let him_? Betrayal at its finest.

“She bet that if she was correct about Toph and Suki, I had to tell you I’m a vampire _and_ I’m in love with you.” Zuko laughs quietly at that. “Guess she won either way.”

“And you?”

Zuko stops laughing and instead stumbles uncomfortably. “Well, uhm, she had to tell you something.”

Sokka stares at him. “Tell me what?”

“It’s not—If I tell you, she’s gonna know.”

“ _How_ would she know.”

Zuko stares back at Sokka. “She’s gonna know.”

Sokka stands up from where he sits and walks over to Zuko, caging him in to the countertop, arms at his sides and noses touching.

“Listen, she let me embarrass myself in front of you for years, so I think this is only fair, is it?”

Zuko blinks at him, then sighs in defeat, putting his hands on Sokka’s forearms. “Just promise you won’t freak out.” Sokka leans back and nods. “Your sister—Katara’s a witch.”

A beat, then two. The pancakes need to be flipped.

Sokka flips over first.

“My sister is a _what now?!_ ”

**Author's Note:**

> HIS SISTER WAS A WITCH! [cue video of all the dudes in the living room arguing about the wizard of oz]
> 
> fun fact the paper sokka goes around thinking about is actually my final psychology paper that i was just randomly re-reading when i had no idea what to write about so yeah. also sorry for the brief tiktok reference i have spent so much time on that app it's a problem at this point.
> 
> i hope you enjoyed this and if u did please consider leaving kudos or a comment!!! i love hearing yalls thoughts bc in case u haven't noticed i tend to talk a lot hehe :] u can also find my oversharing process on twitter @rkivetect (no idk how to do the underlined link I'm a stem major but not the kind that knows how computers work, i cheated my way through intro to technology)
> 
> stay safe and healthy !! <3


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